The farm - Australia

The Place: Liz and I were treated to a day at Armand and Marcia's farm close by in Marnoo where we spent the day yabbying (setting traps in the farm dams for fresh water crayfish).
Some features: We set around 15 yabby traps and pulled in around five per trap, +-75. I got to try my hand at sheering a sheep under Armand's guidance -or at least I sheered one of its sides. Was very interesting to see how it's done properly with the sheep pinned down in the right holds without moving a muscle while it's entire fleece is taken off in minutes. Liz the roustabout showed me how the fleece is gathered up and spread out on the table in one swoop.
Went wine tasting that arvo at Taltarni and Warrenmang, 2 wine farms set in the nearby Pyrenees hillsides followed by dinner at the best (and only) pub in town (Moonambel). Got that real small country town feeling chilling with a beer while Marcia, Liz and Armand were offering the bartender advice on how to keep his 2 new lambs from becoming flyblown. Good times.

St Arnaud - Australia

The Place: Spent just over a week with Liz' family in her home town of St Arnaud, in country Victoria.

Some features: Attended Janine's (Liz' sister's) wedding which was held at a beautiful spot at one of their farms lakes which is positioned between some of the indigenous gum trees, frequently visited by kangaroos, and has recently seen eagles move in and make a nest for their chicks.

Had a few trips out to the farm and got to ride around the paddocks and woods on their 250CC scrambler and ended up chasing kangaroos through the trees while Liz, her dad and Marcia mended fences.

Muse Live at Wembley - London

The Event: Muse live at Wembley stadium on Sep 10. The gig was incredible. We were lucky enough to get really close to the front of the stadium which seats 75000 people, definitely for the biggest performance I've ever witnessed.
Some highlights: They pulled out loads of classics like New born, Undisclosed Desires - during which the stage extended out into the crowd and rose up and rotated while the band played - and some of their new hits including Uprising. A UFO appeared for one of the tracks and descended onto the crowd while an acrobat dropped out from its centre to perform while suspended in the air.

Battersea Power Centre - London

The event: Went to watch the Redbull x fighters freestyle motocross with Tim, Stuart and Sean. This year the event has moved from Mexico, Egypt, Russia, Spain, to the old decommissioned Battersea Park Power station in London, and moves on to the final in Rome, Italy. The tricks these guys pull out are insane, had a great time.

Benicàssim - Spain

The Place: Benicàssim on the east coast of Spain is home to Festival Internacional de Benicàssim, without a doubt the best festival I've been to so far.

Some features: The festival brings a lot of British revellers and mainly English bands so was definitely not a 'cultural' Spanish experience but the bands, venue, party vibe, beaches and aquapark were absolutely awesome!

A typical day begins with waking up involuntarly in the searing heat of the tent early in the morning with little choice but to head straight to the beach. With the first bands only kicking off at about 6 there is no rush so after a light desayuno y cafe solo in town we would just head straight to the beach and veg there for the day. Later we'd pick up some drinks and groceries and head to the campsite where we'd sit around (about 10 of us) joking, eating, drinking, jamming with musical egg and make shift water bottle drum till about 9 to head down to the stages. With the headliner on at 1am and the music continuing 'till the early hours of the morning we were set for a big night out, followed by little sleep and an early sun wake up call to start it up all over again.

Really enjoyed the music of Mumford & Sons and Vampire Weekend, the stage performance of Goldfrapp, and the mixes of The Scratch Perverts, but by far the most intense was The Prodigy which had everyone jumping & moshing for an hour and a half non-stop belting out all of their hits one after the other.

Another great feature was the nearby waterpark (Aquarama) which is a typical super tube, racing slides and wave pool type waterpark but after feeling dirty, hot and tired from the night before with sleeping late in the tent not being an option, it was great to lie in the shade on some grass, go for a dip whenever, be close to food and water and act like a kid again on the slides.

Best of all, the 10 of us, most not knowing more than 2 of the others, all got along famously and had an wikid time.

Valencia - Spain

The Place: Due to our easy jet flights being cancelled, Sarj and I had an extra day to spend some time chilling in Valencia before catching the next scheduled flight back to London.

Paris - France

The event: Attended the 16th International Energy Accounting Forum in Paris along with a few colleagues.
Some features: Took some time out to rent a bike and cycle along the Sienne passed a few of the sights including Notre Dame. Enjoyed some fine dining at Le Fines Gueules on rue Croix-des-Petit-Champs near the Louvre. Before returning to London, stopped off to see the Moulin Rouge before enjoying a beer at Sacre Coeur.

Fishing in Horsley - England

The Place: Spent a weekend in Horsley, not far out of London for a weekend of camping, braaiing, fishing and snacking.

Some features: Caught 16 fish on the Sat and ate 16 packets of crisps between us. Liz and I tried out our new tent while Karen and Jamie camped in Reggie, their bright and shiny red VW campervan. Jamie's knowhow had a lot to do with the rate we pulled in the fish - all carp, which we threw back in the lake after catching.

Taghazout - Morocco

The Place: Just outside the town of Agadir, Taghazout sits on the coast between some cool surf spots. We stayed 6 days at 'Surf Maroc' villa where we met other travellers, some surfers, some first timers, and some just there to soak up the sun and the good vibes!
Some features: Started with some nice clean and easy surfing at 'Panoramas' close by, a popular beach for soccer, surfing and camel rides. Stronger waves the next day at 'Onze', next to a local surf competition taking place on the adjacent beach. 3rd day (excl. 1st day travelling in), a long beautiful beach drive out to 'Tamri' then 'Boilers', known for its big reef break, where we watched the some of the surfing but didnt attempt to brave it, then back to Panoramas for the afternoon. Last day before heading back went out to some great waves at La Dalle, where we surfed, chilled out on the beach, surfed some more, then stayed till the tide came up and forced us to move - so back to the villa and Panoramas for a last surf. Great food daily at surf maroc, cooked each day by a local chef, and one night ordered some good food topped off with mint tea. Experienced the town closing on friday at lunch for noon prayers, where loud speakers bellowed out from the local mosque for all to hear.

Prague - Czech Republic

The Views: Apart from the joys of wandering around the city (as mentioned below) I was particularly impressed by the city's beauty. We took most opportunities to find a tower or hill to climb from which to view the city. The castle with its St Vitus cathedral sitting in the middle is a great sight from the opposite side of the Vltava river. Crossing the Charles bridge (the world's largest open air statue exhibition) there is a tower offering more great views including the dome topped library and many red roofs and churches (giving Prague the nickname - city of a hundred steeples).